Postpartum check in/chat « Back to Group Discussions

[flavorfull1]

This is not to be exclusive at all and I welcome any and all to comment but I felt like it would be nice to have a place to check in and talk about postpartum stuff since we will all eventually be there :)

How are you ladies doing?  I feel remarkably better than I did the first time and I am only on day two!  My bleeding is considerably less, like I feel like I need to ask my mw if it is ok to not bleed more significantly at this point?  My milk is slowly coming in and DD is pretty chill which is nice.  I had a small tear stitched so I am still a little swollen and sore but even the after pains are more manageable at this point.  I had to up my advil because the after pains were so bad that I would throw up when nursing. did not see that coming but so much better now. 

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I'm doing amazingly well. I apparently get high off of postpartum hormones and I'm having a hard time taking it easy. Afterpains are gone, my bottom isn't too sore, my belly is smaller than my boobs again, and I have WAY too much milk. Thankfully I have big babies so they can handle the overactive let down pretty well.

The biggest problem I've had was yesterday I passed an almost palm sized clot which scared the crap out of me. My midwife said everything's fine though, and I'm feeling pretty good so I'm no longer worried. But man, that is a disturbing sensation.

[Itsasecret]

I'm feeling great, too! This recovery is night and day different than the last! I feel as good as when I was recovering with #1 or #2!

I have no time online - I'm just taking a break from homework now.

[chiromama01]

I'm doing SOOO much better than I did with my first.  Probably too good... as I'm overdoing it.  I am having some considerable back pain, which I didn't have with my first.  All in all though, I am feeling really well.  Still clotting a little, but Collin sleeps like a champ so that's been a huge help in the swift recovery.  I am a little concerned about my milk though.  It came in on Saturday and i was swollen and engorged as expected, and that went away quickly.  but now i feel like i'm too comfortable.  like there's not enough in there.  i know it's probably irrational.  I go back to work on thursday, so I'm trying to pump at night so i can have some milk ready for the week, but even after several minutes of pumping, i'm only getting 2 oz.  any suggestions?  thoughts? is this normal? 

congrats again to all the new mamas! I love seeing all the new arrivals!

[kaismum]

Chrio - I think that as moms we are misled to believe that days of engorgement is normal. It is common, but definitely not part of the normal course of breastfeeding. Fullness is normal as milk comes in and things level out, but if you are nursing on demand it is likely that you will not have prolonged fullness or engorgement. As long as Collin is doing well: making plenty of wet and dirty diapers, having periods of quiet wakefullness, etc, it is safe to assume that everything is going well in the milk department. Pumps can be tricky because they are not as effective as babies at removing milk from the breast, but 2 ounces actually sounds about right as that would be about the amount or a little more than what he would be getting at a feeding right now. By day 10 of life or so, his stomach will be about the size of a large egg which would hold approximately two ounces. So, it sounds to me like things are going well. I know that some of the other moms in the group are La Leche League leaders or otherwise knowledgeable about breastfeeding also, so maybe they will have other information to offer. 

Also, here is a link to a video about hands on pumping which is a good method for getting the most milk per pumping session: http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

[Thursday Girl]

immeditae post partum i was sore and swollen with afterpains that were quite bad, then I got a horribly painful hemorroid it was worse then any of the other pin. but now it's all going away, the bleeding was down and I was reco ering well then i overdid it this weekend, so resting now. luckily my big kids have spring break this weekend so it works out well since Hubs went back to work.

chiro- i think 2 oz sounds about right. kaismum said it much better than i could.

[RosieL]

Kaismom, thanks for that response, helpful to know. I've been in fear of engorgement even though my milk came in two days ago.

My recovery has been up and down. My belly is still swollen and bruised (they had a rough time getting his head out of my abdomen), and that sucks. Learning to nurse and be a mom with DH by my side and lots of family support is awesome though. My emotions have sung low a couple times when thinking about the CS and hospital stay.

Glad to hear you guys are doing well.

[chiromama01]

Kaismum--thanks, that info really helps, i feel a lot better now.  I was able to pump 1.5 oz at 4am and then 2 oz later on this afternoon, but i'm concerned that he's been hungry ALL DAY because i pumped those 2 bottles.  I'm trying to figure all this out, but its been harder than i remembered! I had my office manager limit the shifts to 2.5/3 hours, which should mean that realistically i could get through the first 2 shifts on the milk i have in the freezer.  He seems to eat more when he's with me, so maybe he wont drink it all on the first day since i wont be there.  Oh, the logistics... 

Rosie, I posted on your other thread, but I hope your doing well and enjoying your time as a new mommy ;) 

For all the other recovering mamas-- i hope youre all doing well and enjoying your new  babes as much as dh and i are right now.  this is the most time we've had together in many years! 

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Yesterday was a hell of a day that wound up with me having to cancel my massage so I could go pick up DH from the doctor's office. This involved carrying Tavian out to the car in his carseat and dragging Evie (30 lbs) kicking and screaming to the car, and just way too much walking around and caring for people more than me. Things are better today, except for me, physically. I've irritated my tear. It's not enough where I'm worried, but I feel like I have a papercut in my crotch and that is NOT fun. So today is trying to reclaim my baby moon, rest, nurse, sit on ice and lots of witch hazel.

How's everyone else doing?

[flavorfull1]

Oh wow ashley that sounds awful! I am still just sitting around at home so I can only imagine!  Yesterday and last night I was really swollen and engorged.  So painful. This morning I practically begged DS to nurse just to relieve some of the pain.  DD nurses great but it seems my body just over produces a bit and then calms down.  DS had decreased his interest in nursing and is just more into life itself.  I am not ready for him to wean but if it is what he wants to do naturally, that is how I wanted it to go anyway.  

DD is a little yellow which has me watching her vigilantly.  She is more awake than she was even yesterday and does seem to be a little less yellow today.  Her poops are awesome and she wakes up to nurse even more frequently now.  I am just wanting to make sure I take care of her you know?

My bleeding is very minimal now which seems really weird to me since I bled heavily with DS for at least 3 weeks and then continued varying amounts until 10 weeks.  I feel so much better than I did after him too but I have hit the emotional roller coaster stuff.  Anyone wearing a postpartum support belt?  I am this time and it makes moving around feel so much better.  I just don't know how long you wear it?

I had a weird/scary thing happen Sunday night into Monday morning. I woke up freezing and wracked with chills.  I almost couldn't wake DH because my body was shaking so bad.  He was able to warm me up but I felt really weak and like I was going to pass out. No fever, no bleeding more than what I had before.  I couldn't really communicate well and my pulse was really slow and weak.  Eventually, my sister, DH, and my mom all got me out of bed so I could pee. For some reason I really needed to as well.  I felt a little better after peeing and my heart rate was better.  My sister had been on the phone with the mw and she wanted me to eat a lot of salt and sugar and drink a lot.  I did all of those things, yay for a 3am food party, and felt better but just tired and weak. I had night sweats overnight but they were just normal. The next morning it was as if it didn't even happen.  My mw checked my iron levels the next day which are normal.  Ultimately, she thinks it was a combination of hormonal swings with my milk coming in, not eating enough and drinking enough, and maybe something else.  It was horrible and weird but isolated and I have felt pretty great since.

Rosie- sorry that your cs was rough on your belly, I hope the bruising gets better quickly and you can just enjoy your little man.

chiro- I don't have much to add because everyone else gave great advice, hope the pumping goes well, I was not a huge producer for pumping, it always worked better if I could pump one side while nursing the baby on the other.

Thursday- I don't know how people with more than one other kid don't overdo it, I hope you are getting some good rest. I still keep thinking about how sweet your birth story was.

[AiryFairy]

I'm feeling fabulous which I attribute to 1) having consumed the placenta via fresh in smoothies 2) the fact that I am so head over heels in love with my little man and 3) that he sleeps better than I do. I haven't had any of the hormone/mood swings like I had with my other births.  I feel the most balanced and healthier than I ever remember feeling.  I'm 8 days PP and feel like I'm on cloud nine, loving life....which surprised me with having DH away at treatment. 

My milk came in after only 12 hours post-partum and I have so much that I'm continuously engorged throughout the night and so uncomfortable that I have to get up and I'm able to quickly hand express about 2.5 oz. which makes me just comfortable enough to be able to wake Aries for a feed.  I've never had this much milk before or had it come in so quickly....go placenta power! :)  I had a couple days of blister-like sores on my nipples.  Not from bad latch but just from my nipples getting used to all his nursing.  I healed them pretty quick by expressing some milk onto them and let air-dry and when they were at the worst I added coconut oil after that.  They're all healed now but it's still intense/painful when he latches and my let down starts immediately, for about 10-20 seconds I feel like holding my breath and clenching up.

I had a 1st degree tear which I opted to get 2 stitches in...that hasn't been an issue.  My bleeding has been very light the past 2 days to the point where I think it's done but then I'll get a bit more flow here and there.  My bottom still feels a little tender but seems better day by day.

My after-birth pains were definitely the worst this time but thankfully have been gone since 3 days PP.

[Rasa]

flavorful1...I had the same thing with the night chills (really more like rigors)--it happened once a few days postpartum though I don't remember exactly which day off the top of my head (I noted it on my phone but that's downstairs now and baby is nursing now so will check later).  I had it happen once at the end of pregnancy but no other times.  My midwives weren't really concerned--they thought it was something hormonal (I wondered at the time if it was when she really dropped and was some kind of vasovagal reaction but hormones seem equally as likely)...when I googled it i found a very small number of people saying they had experienced it near the end of pregnancy buy way more people saying they experienced it postpartum.  Both times my actual body temp/bp etc were fine.  It definitely was scary and I hope it's not something that repeats itself!

My bleeding has been way less than with DD1 (but way different birth experiences)...I'm 2 weeks pp today and the bleeding is about done!  I unfortunately seem to have my 1st hemorrhoid...seems to be internal.  Never had any issues like this before and I'm wondering if it's from sitting/semi-reclining all night as that's how I'm most comfortable with DD2 on my chest.  If anything, I'm eating/drinking way better now than I was even in pg and a good whole foods diet, I didn't actively push at all during labor...hopefully this is really self-limiting and will heal up soon and not be a long term problem.  I send DH to store for some prunes anyway ;-) though I think adding in more healthy fats will probably help me more than anything...should probably go get a snack soon!

We opted to have a posterior tongue tie on DD2 clipped last week and that was really traumatic for ME but I think it has already really improved her nursing (DD1 went undiagnosed, as did myself and all my siblings) and it really affected our nursing relationship (and caused so much nipple trauma) for years...I was really conflicted about it with DD2 but ultimately think it has already helped us so much.  She's 7 oz over her birth weight today at 2 weeks old, I have almost no pain during bf now and my nipples are healed (they were bleeding within a day pp). DD2 is a cluster-feeder and then has discrete nap sessions 2-4 hrs long which is WIERD after having DD1 who nursed/slept simultaneously 23.5 hrs a day for months ;-) Right now she's slipped effortlessly into our normal sleeping routine (we all go to bed late and sleep in), even with DD1 in the room...don't know how we'll manage when DH goes back to work and can't get the second half of his sleep in the a.m. though...hmmm.

Emotionally I feel pretty good though had some hostility/sadness with my mom just before she left, which really tarnished an otherwise wonderful and supportive visit.  I probably let my hormones rage unchecked a bit.  I wish I didn't have to be the 'adult' in the relationship ALL the time and wish she could have reached into her tightly guarded emotional vault to tell me she loved me or that she was proud of me after DD2's birth.  Maybe validating me verbally isn't her love language or whatever (apparently I need to read that book y'all were talking about way back when!)  She was supposed to come back for a week or so at the end of the month when DH does back to work...we'll see!

DD2 was a teensy bit yellow but WAY less than DD1 was and they never had us do more for her than stand at a sunny window...I think DD2 was better because of the delayed cord clamping.  She's been back to her normal color for a week I'd say.  Her cord fell off 6 days pp which was also way earlier than DD1.  I've been taking my placenta as capsules and had it dehydrated raw...then I heard from my lactation consultant that taking it raw long term (rather than quickly early on) may interfere with milk production (as it's a longer drawn-out form of progesterone) and that she would have recommended steaming it...sigh...but I'm not noticing any supply issues at least from the standpoint that DD2 is gaining and eliminating well.

 

Thanks for the self-milk-expression video kaismum--very good info!

[NCMtnMama]

I'm 4 days pp now, and things are coming along okay. I had a 13+ hour labor and 2 hours (!!) of pushing. My daughter (8lbs 4 oz, 22 inches long) got caught under my pelvis, and we had to try several different positions for a long time to get her out. Luckily she tolerated it well (her HR never changed at all), but I'm quite sore and ended up with a 2nd degree tear and some unpleasant hemorrhoids. Last time, I had an episiotomy (against my will) and ripped right through it for a 3rd degree tear, so this is still much better than that! So it's ice packs and rest and colace for all that business. This too shall pass. (My husband's idea of a postpartum poo joke. Isn't he funny?)

Honestly, I felt so awesome even with all that, by doing it without drugs that I've been overdoing it on the activity for the last few days, and woke up this morning to more soreness and some oozing blood around my stitches that was fairly unpleasant. So my husband and mom have put me on bed rest and they're buzzing around taking care of all the stuff I've been insistent on doing. So now I'm taking it easy and resting in bed, nursing and nursing my little sleepy piglet. 

Oh, one other thing, I ended up yesterday being borderline for post partum hypertension. The mw decided it was just diuresis and sent me home to drink lots more water and monitor my blood pressure. Has anyone else dealt with this? I woke up yesterday (3 days pp) with my face and hands swollen up like balloons. I didn't look like myself at all!

[AbbieB]

Hi everyone.

I'm so glad to be on this side of things. This was a rough pregnancy for me. Piper Lily arrived Saturda morning after what my midwife calls a 6 hour active labor. (We induced to avoid needing to go to the hospital for creeping blood pressure starting Thursday using a combo of membrane stripping, castor oil, and some mild herbs.)

I was really suprised in the hours after birth by all of the typical things like clots, after pains, and easy nursing that I experienced this time around. I had not had that before. The clots flopping out when I stood or peed really wigged me out. I had a PPH with my first so it was a little triggery. The after pains I was expecting, but they seemed to slam into me so soon after. I'm not complaining that Piper knew what to do as soon as I brought her to my breast. that girl is a natural and hungry! It was not quite so easy for her 2 older siblings.

My mother was here for me the week before birth and managed to hang in and be at the whole labor and birth! That was such a suprise for both of us. The plan had been for her to grab a hotel room whe she got to uncomfortable (she has not been a fan of my choosing homebirths) but shwas really suprised by how calm and fast things were. It was a nice gift for us to share this.

Yesterday my milk started coming in and my after pains peaked so I was a bit of a wreck. I have not had a lot of sleep or a lot to eat and I was on my feet to much. I seem to have developed some post partum anxiety that hits like a panic attack right after I fall asleep. I'm really struggling with it today. It is not fun waking up struggling to breath, disoriented, pannicked, and shaky. it passes but comes back as soon as i try to sleep again. And boy do I want to sleep.

Anybody elese expereince or know about this kind of anxiety thing?

I'm looking forward to my hormones balancing a bit more. My Daughter is just so amazing and beautiful, I just want to feel good enough to focuson her and babymoon rather than having to focus so much on eating/drinking/sleeping right to get me throuh this postpartum week. oh, there she is. no spell check or proof reading...

[Rasa]

Congrats Abbie, on the arrival of Piper!

Two thoughts on the anxiety...Not sure if it's the same thing, but I've been really mucous/phlegmy since delivering (it's actually much better now and I'm 19 days pp but first week or two were bad) and I'd wake up at night gasping for breath sometimes (which is a really scary feeling when you can't suck in air!)  It's likely (in my case) caused by the mucous or perhaps even stomach acid irritating the vocal cords at night and if they get partially paralyzed by that irritation, one can't breathe until they get 'unstuck' ...and hormones can definitely be contributing to these issues (extra mucous and reflux) as far as I understand.  I'm already sleeping propped up which helps a lot.  Also, with my first child, I'd wake in an anxious panic if she wasn't on my chest or in arms (even if I was conscious about giving her to DH before going to sleep, for example).  This time I'm just keeping baby with me and sleeping much better because of it.  Also, in general, Krill oil has really helped my anxiety (I've been taking it for over a year and haven't had any strong anxious moments since then even postpartum related so far).  My doctor called it the 'cadillac of fish oils' (I know it's not the same as fish oil) and I agree...pricey but worth it!

NCMtnMama, sorry about the swelling, I haven't experienced that, sounds painful!  Did the extra water help?

[RosieL]

Chiro - keep us updated on how you figure out pumping logistics. Thats the next major thing I feel like I need to figure out.

AF - has your milk regulated itself a bit?

I had mastitis staring me down and was trying to fight it without antiBs, but my fever crept too high for my MWs comfort so I'm taking a course of cephlex. Is it possible to have an impact in one pill? I do feel better already and haven't had even an elevated temp all day. Now here's to hoping to probiotics do their job.

Odin has been snacking all day, fewer poops, and isn't contentedly sleeping, or quietly looking around after eating like usual. I wonder if it's effects of the infection, meds, or neither?

[chiromama01]

OMG i'm exhausted and my brain feels like mush! i promise i have read all the posts, but couldn't individually respond if my life depended on it...

i've just survived my first full week back at work, and I'm beat! Collin has been a super easy baby so I have been able to keep him with me, which means i can still nurse on demand, which is great, but by the time i'm done with patients and mommy duties, i'm wiped out.  not to mention, i spent my only week off pumping like crazy, only for my dh to leave the freezer door open, so i had to toss all my stored milk.  ugh.  but, Collin and i both survived, and got to go home today and take a nap together.

tomorrow is my first day with both kids on my own, and im terrified! 

abbie-- i don't know much about the anxiety your dealing with, but i hope you get some calm soon!  keep us posted!

rosie-- i've realized that pumping right after his morning nursing session seems to work the best for us.  i only get about 2 oz but that seems to be enough for now.  i've also notice that if i don't get to pump in the am, i'm usually engorged around noon, so i can catch it then, too... 

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Today was my first 1/2 day with both kids, and it overall went really well. Evie pooped in her diaper (she's wet trained though) 3x and had a major meltdown in public over a diaper change, and I am TIRED. Tavian has his first diaper rash, and I think I actually have one as well. 2.5 weeks of wearing disposable stuff on my butt is apparently not good for me anymore, and I just feel so sore and chafed. Luckily my bleeding is slowing down dramatically so hopefully I'll be totally out of pads soon.

In other news, I'm amazed at how quickly my body bounces back after pregnancy. I'm totally out of maternity clothes and even needed a belt today. I'm still "obese" but I'm definitely back to my old form, mostly.
 

[AiryFairy]

Rosie, my milk supply has regulated a bit better but not without some work on my part.  I realized that expressing 2oz. or so wasn't helping in the over production so I stopped doing that.  I've also noticed Aries having some green poops which could be the result of too much fore milk, not enough hind milk; so I decided to try feeding on only one side per feeding (within a 2 hour time table before switching to the opposite breast) via advice from LLL website.  That seems to have helped tremendously on lowering my production.  I also love peppermint tea in the evening, which come to find out can lower your supply.  I have some mother milk tea that is delicious but so far have had to keep away from for the time being LOL.

[vivica2]

you guys make this sound easy! (other than a few bumps) ;)

my after pains have gone away (were at 3 days PP)  but my boobs are killing me! in every way possible. they are engorged, and i have open scabs on my nipples. not the areola part but right in the center of my nipple. TALK ABOUT PAIN!  any tips for this??? it is awefull...im about to bust out the formula so i can let the ladies heal. *sigh*